


Token

by gimmekensei



Category: Rurouni Kenshin
Genre: I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, Mention of Chou - Freeform, One Shot, Takes place at the start of the Hokkaido series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 07:14:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24467020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gimmekensei/pseuds/gimmekensei
Summary: “You wanna get a picture of the two of us? Why would I want that?” Sanosuke’s eyebrow arched upwards at the cop’s rather sudden suggestion. “Don’t those things steal your soul or somethin’’?”( Sanosuke being an oblivious rooster. Takes place in the start of the Hokkaido series )
Relationships: Sagara Sanosuke/Saitou Hajime
Kudos: 19





	Token

“You wanna get a picture of the two of us? Why would I want that?” Sanosuke’s eyebrow arched upwards at the cop’s rather sudden suggestion. “Don’t those things steal your soul or somethin’’?” When Saitou had suggested they get something to eat, and further yet threw out the fact that he would pay, Sanosuke had been predictably eager to accept the offer. However, in the back of his mind, he admittedly had been a tad hesitant. They might be sorta friends, but that didn’t mean that Sanosuke should ever fully let down his guard. He didn’t need another surprise attack to the shoulder. But, hell...fuck his concerns. He was going to try to at least enjoy his meal, dammit!  
  
“Your friends mentioned that you seem particularly eager to see me after all this time.” Saitou remarked quietly, not letting Sanosuke’s stupidity get in the way of his quest to get a picture of them together. He had seen the Battosai getting a picture with that raccoon wife of his and couldn’t help but deep down want one of his own. The mission that they had coming up would be full of dangers they had never faced before. He couldn’t promise that either of them would make it out alive. Furthermore, being without the foolhardy rooster for five years had taught Saitou to perhaps learn to cherish their hidden friendship more...Or at least value it. “And no, ahou ga...it doesn’t steal your soul.” _How could anything steal a so-called demon’s soul?_ _  
_  
“Eh? Who the hell said that lie?” Who knew that behind that dour, perpetually scowling expression the damn cop wore, Saitou's mind worked in some truly bizarre ways. Saitou’s suggestion for a picture was by far, one of the strangest things Sanosuke had heard all day. And that was saying a lot.  
  
“Hn...you really are still a foolish windbag.” The cop commented under his breath only to grab his lighter, flick it open before playing a cigarette between his thin lips, lighting the object placed so delicately there. The rooster caught himself staring a bit too long and quickly shook his head like a wet dog would, and sent his strands of hair flying.  
  
“Heh, only a few minutes into seeing each other and you’re already at it with the insults? Cocky cop~” Sanosuke took a step forward so their faces were merely just a foot apart. “Just admit it. You missed these fine looks of mine and because of that, yer beggin’ for a picture of me to hang on your office wall.”  
  
The blank look that the wolf gave him said it all. _Eh?_ But then strangely enough, Saitou’s lips curled upwards in a small show of amusement. And fuck, if that didn’t make Sanosuke’s insides turn inside out, he didn’t know what could. Seeing the wolf smile was well….a treat but a bittersweet one. A smiling wolf wasn’t always a good sign. Sanosuke gulped.  
  
“Ahou….You think quite highly of yourself, don’t you?” Saitou finally said and in a heartbeat, Sanosuke was crowing angrily and flailed his arms wildly about like the rooster he was. Saitou nearly smiled at seeing the childish and brash male behave just like he did five years ago. This really was the same ahou that he had met through the Battosai.  
  
“Ugh! Listen here! Quit looking at me like that and let’s just go get your damn picture!” Sanosuke huffed and made a point to ignore his inner screaming of confusion at giving in so easily. But maybe it was due to the fact that he seriously had missed this cop and hell, he’d put up with this for a bit longer.  
  
“Hurry up and finish your food then, ahou.” Saitou remarked and neatly ate the last bit of the plain soba remaining in his bowl before getting up and paying while Sanosuke hungrily slurped loudly his food. It might be polite in Japan to slurp loudly, but somehow even the fist-fighter managed to make a traditionally polite act sound obnoxious and grating to the ears.  
  
Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Sanosuke set the empty bowl down with a clatter and stood up to meet Saitou by the entrance of the small shop. Why he was doing this and being so compliant, he seriously still didn’t know.  
  
“Oi, is it just me you want a picture of? Or are you gettin’ one of broomhead too?” Sanosuke barked out, breaking the previous silence the two had shared as they started their walk to the picture shop.  
  
“Why would I need a picture of my subordinate?” Saitou remarked with a judgmental huff before stealing another drag from his dying cigarette. Would it really hurt for this idiot to just shut up and do what he demanded??  
  
“Well...donno, but you gotta admit it’s weird that after five years of me being outta the country, that the first day you see me back you demand a picture. Oh, and might I add, use someone else’s comment as an excuse for why we gotta do this.” Sanosuke grumbled, kicking a pebble that had been unfortunate enough to be in the rooster’s way. Refusing to meet the cop’s eyes that he definitely felt drilling into the side of his skull, the younger of the two sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets.  
  
“Well ahou ga...seeing as how you reacted when you assumed I was dead, I figured I’d save some trouble and give you a token to hold onto.”  
  
“Tch, a token of what? Love, huh?” Sanosuke snickered and forgot not to look to the side, because when he did and their eyes connected, he felt a sudden shiver race down his spine. Besides Sanosuke yelling at Saitou when he had discovered that one time that the cop had been very much alive and well...and the drunk night that followed with him admitting he had missed the damn wolf, they hadn’t talked about them. N-Not that there was a theme though! But, hell...sometimes Sanosuke just wished they talked it out, plain and simple so he didn’t always have to feel like he was walking on thin ice.  
  
“As if ahou. Maybe someday you’ll look at this token long and hard and do the opposite of whatever stupid crime you plan on committing.”  
  
“Heh, what are you, my mother?” Sanosuke laughed, watching as Saitou discarded his cigarette before stepping into the same shop that Kenshin had just previously been in. Man, they were seriously doing this, weren’t they?  
  
Having to remind himself to keep breathing and just wait for the death that surely was coming his way, because this was totally some weird dream, right? Huffing quietly, Sanosuke kept his hands shoved in his pockets as he glanced about the shop as Saitou discussed prices with the shop owner. It didn’t seem to take long since he found the back of his collar grabbed and yanked over to the background they were supposed to stand in front.  
  
“Wait, Jime, I don’t know about this-”  
  
“Learn how to keep your trap closed for once ahou ga…” Saitou snickered, and straightened his back slightly only to give a hinting whack to Sanosuke’s back, making the male growl angrily, but obey for now. Ignoring how his back cracked slightly at the straightening motion, Sanosuke hesitated only to shift closer to Saitou’s side. He didn’t know why he had felt the urge to move closer, but it just felt..... _right._ And though Saitou gave him another look that Sanosuke couldn’t decipher, they both stood still, with Saitou’s lips pressed tightly closed and Sanosuke’s lifted slightly in amusement at this entire bizarre situation.  
  
When it was all said and done, Sanosuke stared at the picture in the palm of his hand. Wow, they had really done it…  
  
Saitou didn’t say anything to Sanosuke and rather addressed the shopkeeper, thanking him politely before yanking Sanosuke right of the store. “H-Hey, easy there! I ain't a rag doll, y’know!! I can walk on my own!”  
  
“So you say, baka…” Saitou remarked only to pause and turn on his heel to eye Sanosuke quietly. “Your body…”  
  
“HUH?!” Sanosuke uttered loudly and was about ready to pick another fight with the wolf since that was a long time coming, but he was soon silenced by the police officer’s next comment. “Looks cold. Idiot. Let me finish my sentences first before you interrupt.” Saitou sighed and only caused Sanosuke’s blood to boil even higher.  
  
“Tch, and what’s wrong with that?!”  
  
“Nothing. Though I would suggest getting a better coat, considering where we are.” The wolf uttered before turning back to continue to walk towards who knows where.  
  
“Hey, Jime…” Sanosuke mumbled out and surprised even himself by grabbing the back of Saitou’s coat. His fingers dug into the fabric, bunching it up into his hand causing even more creases. “You gonna tell me the real reason we got our picture taken together, huh?”  
  
“I already told you, it’s meant to be a reminder to not be so careless.” Saitou remarked after coming to a stop in the middle of the street with the rooster latched onto his back. It was peaceful enough this evening. There were few people traveling about since it had just snowed again today. Typical Hokkaido.  
  
“Yeah, so ya keep sayin’.” Sanosuke sucked in a cold breath to try and soothe his frayed nerves. He shouldn’t feel so nervous, and yet he found his heart beating more rapidly than it should be. “Look Jime...just be honest with me...man to man, y’know? Unless you want to fight it out?”  
  
“Ahou…” Was the soft, yet somehow tender response as Saitou shuffled to take off his coat. Sweeping it off his shoulders, he turned to face the fist-fighter and wrapped it around the surprised rooster’s broad shoulders. “I swear...question after question…”  
  
Sanosuke jolted when he was suddenly covered in warmth and Saitou’s smoky scent from those cigarettes of his. He had no idea what the heck was happening, but someone return the real Saitou! The real Saitou wouldn’t EVER be this nice! And wouldn’t be looking at him like that! “Uh…” Sanosuke’s mouth popped open to clamp shut.  
  
“Hn...finally learned how to be quiet?” Saitou remarked amusingly only to reach out with his gloved hand and slowly move about to cup the younger male’s face. For a moment no one said anything as the back of Saitou’s gloved thumb moved back and forth to gently stroke the chill skin underneath his fingertips. If Sanosuke had to admit...if felt sorta nice, but he totally didn’t understand still what was going on. He really was innocent in so many ways…  
  
“I..have my moments…” Sanosuke finally choked out after reminding himself that Saitou had addressed him. Shuddering, the fist-fighter’s eyes slipped partly closed and leaned shyly into the touch, trying to gauge what was going on. He shivered once more when he felt Saitou’s second hand come up to cup the other side of his face. Sanosuke immediately slammed his eyelids shut, not trusting himself to make eye contact with Saitou without doing something utterly stupid.  
  
“Ahou…” And then suddenly there was a soft brush of something against Sanosuke’s slightly parted lips. Sanosuke’s cheeks darkened a deep red, his eyes blown wide, the rooster hadn’t had any time to react before Saitou kissed him. It happened so quickly. He looked up at the other male before him, his heart rate picking up sped as he found himself in this situation.  
  
“.....Sano.” Saitou muttered, his voice more husky than usual as he eyed the glazed, look of shock that was projecting across the younger male’s face. “Sanosuke.” He uttered with more of a snap to attention attitude in his voice, and that seemed good enough to grab the brat’s attention.  
  
“Y-Yeah, Jime?” Sanosuke made a high pitched noise, sounding almost like a squeak and jerked his head. He was too embarrassed by the noise he just made to speak after that.  
  
“Try to think of that token as a promise of the future…” Saitou sighed only to flick Sanosuke’s forehead and pull apart, leaving Sanosuke’s face exposed to the cold once more. “Unless, you don’t wish for-”  
  
“Wait! Don’t be putin’ words into my mouth again..” Sanosuke uttered, his tongue poking out shyly to wet his bottom lip. “Look, I’m flattered and I’m not sayin’ no, but,”  
  
“But?” Saitou listened though his eyebrow rose in question.  
  
“But don’t expect me to suddenly launch myself into your arms and get all lovely-dovey.” Sanosuke nervously rubbed the back of his neck. “Look, I get to know we got the picture...and hell, it woulda been kinda nice if you’d been just straight up in the beginning, instead of suddenly throwing a ton of nice shit at me.”  
  


Sanosuke coughed. “So, uh…just don’t die out there tomorrow Jime...Don’t leave me on my own to digest what our potential is only to die.”  
  
“Hn.”  
  
“What, eh?” Sanosuke huffed, puffing his cheeks.  
  
“I didn’t expect an ahou like you to handle this so well. I expected you to demand another fight.”  
  
“Well, again like I said earlier...I’m full of surprises.” Sanosuke cracked a faint smile, to which Saitou matched it with a small smirk. Tomorrow they would be parting ways, but at least the picture that they both carried in their pockets were with them to remind them of what was waiting at home. They weren’t exactly official, but they would have all the time in the world to figure things out. They had reserved each other. It was a matter of exploring their relationship’s potential.  
  
“Oh, Jime….we might end up regretting this.”  
  
“Hn, I doubt it ahou. Have some faith.”  
  
“Eh, well if you say so. But I’m putting all my faith in you.”

**Author's Note:**

> To be honest, I'm actually really happy with the way this turned out. Hope you guys liked it as well! I do sometimes take requests, btw!


End file.
